This study explores the rise of surgery in late 17th and early 18th century France. Earlier research suggests that this period saw crucial changes in the organization of surgeons and their relationship with the royal government. The present work seeks to examine the process of professionalization by looking at the scientific and technical bases of surgery, th self-perception of surgeons, the nature of their interaction with the French state, and their medical function and status in French society of the Old Regime. The life and work of Francois La Peyronie (1678-1747), the first surgeon to the king, gives access to these issues, and the basic approach will be biographical. In many respects La Peyronie's career represented an ideal for the profession, setting a model for surgeons' aspirations. More generally, La Peyronie epitomized the savant of the early Enlightenment-a man of learning, possessing scientific and craft knowledge, and deeply committed to a vocation. La Peyronie dedicated himself to the pragmatic task of raising professional standards and practice. It is to La Peyronie's work as chief architect and administrator of French surgery that most attention will be given. This study is a necessary first step toward filling a major gap in the history of medicine.